The Definition of Insanity: Gay Republicans

Every four years gay Republicans slime out from under their rocks to remind us that the Democratic candidate wasn't always perfect on LGBT issues. They then implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) pivot to this nonsensical argument: Since your guy/gal wasn't always perfect on LGBT issues, the LGBT community should vote for the Republican who was terrible on LGBT issues then, is terrible on LGBT issues now, and who has pledged, if elected, to remain terrible on LGBT issues forever.

The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), a group that says it aims to make the Republican Party more LGBT-inclusive, released its first ad of the 2016 election this weekend. It had nothing to do with Republicans, however. Instead, the ad suggests that Hillary Clinton was “wrong on gay rights when it mattered.” After citing clips of Clinton from over ten years ago opposing same-sex marriage, the ad jumps to Bernie Sanders talking in 2015 about how “leadership counts.”

Lying, delusional, self-hating shitbags can't open their mouths without lying and attempting to delude:

Other outlets were quick to point out that Clinton’s comments were taken out of context. It’s true that she didn’t support marriage equality back then, but as the Advocate pointed out, one of the clips from the ad is actually from her 2004 speech opposing a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Bush, Carson, and Kasich opposed marriage equality then, they oppose it now, and half of them have sworn to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will overturn Obergefell, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. And they're uniformly terrible on other LGBT issues too.

Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality. He said that he opposed it because he was a “traditional” guy, choosing to support domestic partnership benefits instead. Trump later reversed himself and said he also opposed civil unions. Despite a brief flirtation with “evolving” in 2013, Trump has consistently maintained his opposition to marriage equality, sometimes by citing polling and making an analogy to his dislike of long golf putters. After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said the court had made its decision and, although he disagreed with the ruling, he did not support a constitutional amendment that would allow states to re-ban marriage equality. He later said he would appoint Supreme Court judges who would be committed to overturning the ruling.

Rubio has consistently opposed marriage equality. He even thanked Speaker John Boehner for spending taxpayer dollars to protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Rubio said “you have to really have a ridiculous and absurd reading of the U.S. constitution to reach the conclusion that people have a right to marry someone of the same sex.” Rubio has also said that “the most important thing the next President will do is appoint Supreme Court justices” opposed to rulings like Obergefell, and has suggested Supreme Court appointments are the best way to reverse the historic ruling and roll back progress.... Rubio said he opposed making sexual orientation a protected class under civil rights laws. Despite claiming he opposed discrimination, Rubio voted against ENDA—which would have given LGBT Americans explicit protection from discrimination in the workplace—and he threatened to oppose his own immigration bill if it included provisions for same-sex couples.

Kasich said that he did not support the LGBT “lifestyle.” He opposed efforts to grant basic domestic partner benefits, voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and said that he supported Ohio’s ban on same-sex marriage.... Kasich voted against efforts to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. As Governor of Ohio, he signed an executive order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for state employees, but it was weaker than the previous executive order signed by his predecessor because it omitted protections for gender identity.

Bush said he believed marriage was between “one man” and “one woman” and eventually supported amending Florida’s constitution to oppose same-sex marriage. Under Bush, the Florida Republican Party spent thousands on the amendment... When asked by a potential LGBT employee about his policy on hiring LGBT people, Bush suggested the employee should stay closeted. He has a history of opposing protections for LGBT Americans as “special legal rights."

Ted Cruz led the charge to deny Texas couples marriage equality. In the Senate, he has supported a constitutional amendment that would prevent the federal government from recognizing marriage equality and an amendment placing members of the Supreme Court up for election. He even said that Justice Anthony Kennedy should resign and that the Obergefell ruling threw the Supreme Court’s “very legitimacy into question.” Cruz has consistently opposed granting critical nondiscrimination protections to LGBT Americans. Cruz has opposed both local ordinances that would have protected LGBT people in cities in Texas, and ENDA’s explicit federal workplace protections.

Carson has said that he does not believe marriage equality is a civil right. He has stated that marriage equality is inconsistent with his religious beliefs, and believes that Congress should fire judges who rule in favor of it. He also supported Alabama judges who defied a ruling that granted residents access to same-sex marriage.... Carson defended Gov. Mike Pence’s right to discriminate law. He suggested many discrimination claims are just trumped up “political correctness” and joked that LGBT couples might have their wedding cakes poisoned by anti-equality bakers.

Every four years we're subjected to the same insipid news stories about the efforts of the Log Cabin Republicans. Credulous reporters, some too young to realize what they're being asked to re-regurgitate, tell us gay Republicans are hopeful! This could be the year! This could be the the year their nominee doesn't return their checks! This could be the year their nominee doesn't refuse to meet with them! This could be the year their nominee doesn't deny the existence of their families! Gay Republicans are praised for trying to "change their party from within" and then...

Nothing changes. Their party never changes. All the GOP candidates for president take the same old bigoted positions. It never gets any better. But no one who writes up the efforts of Log Cabin Republicans to change their party ever thinks to examine the results. There's never an accountability moment for the cocksucking wing of the "party of personal responsibility."